(KJ21) Isaiah 40:10-15: ¹⁰Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.
¹¹He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arm and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
¹²Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?
¹³Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being His counselor hath taught Him?
¹⁴With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of judgment, and taught Him knowledge, and showed to Him the way of understanding?
¹⁵Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance; behold, He taketh up the isles as a very little thing.

We have to constantly remember who is in charge. The Lord Jesus is. It is never a day that goes by that something that will make your jaw drop happens, due to the ignorance and arrogance of man. I have posted 2 articles in my blog that you can read or not read, I will brief you on them as we go along.

But man has a lot of nerve to charge for water to begin with, let alone tax what is free, because people choose to put it in bottles and claim that is purified. We run economies based on greed with the things that God has given to all freely. Gross mismanagement of resources is not godly stewardship. And any good steward knows that what is his is not his but, His. But we are in a war that many have never heard of, nor are aware its outcome is already written.

John 1:1-4 ¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

²He was in the beginning with God.

³All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

⁴In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

Knowing God as Lord provides many things. Mostly, though, is the peace necessary to cope. Many come and try to deceive and many come to steal. Many have died “prematurely” from worry. But there is much thrown out to confound and confuse, many will worry when they should pray.

Though we have people in authoritative places, which may not be doing what we perceive is a good job, we must understand the authority of God to be the example of all authority, since He has placed all authority which is in heaven and on earth. So always respect authority, but appeal to higher authority for righteous judgment, favor and intercession on behalf of those who are not aware of the power of God, nor His commands and mandates.

Mark 13:1-13 (inclusively): Things to Come

¹As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, "Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!"

²And Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down."

No one expected the World Trade Center, or the Temple of Jerusalem to never be standing in their places, but they are not. Magnificent buildings destroyed by men and blood running down the streets. Yet many still refuse to see the power of God.

³As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, ⁴"Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?"

⁵And Jesus began to say to them, "See to it that no one misleads you. ⁶"Many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He!' and will mislead many.

⁷"When you hear of wars and rumors of wars do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end.

As He warns, see that no one misleads you. We have to know the word of God to know the will of God. Many will give you the itchy ear preaching and the method preaching, and some will even outright lie to you. But the elect of God will not be deceived. You are the elect, if you know Him.

⁸"For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

⁹"But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them.

¹⁰"The gospel must first be preached to all the nations.

You only have the honor of being before a governor or king if you have done something very, very good; or something very, very bad. You will be ostracized in church if you stand for the Gospel and all it stands for, but stand fast. Be on you guard. These things are to prove why you were sent to the place you are, that is to be a beacon of light for those who know not God and to edify those who do. So the news of the world is not of great consequence, only a watermark.

¹¹"When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.

¹²"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. ¹³"You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.

The name Job means “hated one, who is counted as an enemy”. Yet through his repentance, he came to know the Lord and became the Prophet, Pastor and priest to his friends and an even great Provider and Protector to those around Him, because he was not deceived, and was on his guard. Not only was he blessed but those around him. Only the Spirit of God can discern the word of God to you, as given by the Father.

So in your quest for prosperity, remember, that all of Job had, was for the many and not for the few and they lived with freedom because he gave freely as he was given. This is good stewardship and peace in the land.

Revelation 22:11-21(inclusively):

¹¹"Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy."

¹²"Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. ¹³"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

This is why you must be on your guard and not be deceived; the promises of a risen Christ that were made while He walked amongst us. All He has said thus far has come to past. And those who know Him know His word is true and eternal.

¹⁴Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. ¹⁵Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.

You can put anything you want on your page, but heed the words. If you are still practicing sin, do you really know Him? Many will say “Lord, Lord”, trust and believe that He will say “I do not know you.” And this does not have to be. We should all be trying to be the channels of the rivers of living water, not the ravine of calamity, immorality and controlling deception. Yes, all have sinned and the runner does stumble, but he doesn’t practice stumbling, he practices running.

¹⁶"I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."

¹⁷The Spirit and the bride say "Come” And let the one who hears say, "Come” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.

You know the futility of man when you know the grace of God. His promise for the water of life is real. Charging people for water and taxing it arbitrarily is unreal. Allowing services for your constituency to get to perilous levels are a gross mismanagement. The same players are always playing the same game. You just need a representative to come to the people with a face they can trust. And with the city and county in the state they are in you wonder what our Senators will do about it.

No time for that. Know who was sent to you and where you are sent and be there. The Spirit and the bride know Him and do not worry about the things of the world, only are prepared for whatever is of sovereign judgments, so that they are blessed in a time of curses.

Knowing God and fellowshipping in Spirit and in Truth are the safest waters. You can swim in them, drink them and even walk on them, if only you would believe.

¹⁸I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; ¹⁹and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.

²⁰He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly” Amen Come, Lord Jesus.

²¹The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.

Stories below

Squeezing a dime out of every bottle

Daley's big tax bite

By Ryan Haggerty and Mickey Ciokajlo, Tribune staff reporters Tribune staff reporter Kristen Kridel contributed to this report October 11, 2007

Mayor Richard Daley reached for bottled water to slake his thirst for new tax revenue Wednesday, proposing a 10-cent tariff on every bottle sold in the city. That $1.25 water from a vending machine could soon cost $1.35. And a 24-pack of Aquafina, advertised for $4.50 at a local grocery chain, would cost $6.90 with the proposed tax, an increase of more than 50 percent.

With millions of water bottles drained each year across the city, the dime-per-bottle tax would add up to a projected $21 million, part of a $293 million package of new taxes, fees and fines proposed by Daley on Wednesday. The tax would place Chicago squarely in the center of a national debate over the environmental and economic impact of bottled water. The tide appears to be turning on bottled water, a national trend that has spawned a backlash from those who complain that landfills are awash in clear plastic empties. Suddenly, bottled water seems to have fallen to the level of cigarettes and soda pop -- an easy tax target.

"Money-wise, it's a good idea, and environmentally, it's a good idea," said Ald. George Cardenas (12th), who proposed the bottled-water tax in August. "People get upset when they hear the word tax," Cardenas said. "There's no tax on water. There's a tax on the plastic. [Tap] water is practically free." Representatives of the bottled water industry and of major retailers criticized the tax, saying it could force people to turn to less healthy beverages, such as soda.

"It's the wrong tax, because here we are doing everything possible to [prevent] illnesses and obesity, and discouraging people from drinking water through a tax is not the best thing to do for their health and lifestyle," said David Vite, president of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association. Vendors will pass the cost of the tax to consumers by raising the price of bottled water purchased at vending machines, said Daniel Stein, co-owner of Mark Vend Co., a Northbrook-based vending service. A bottle of water that costs $1.25 at a machine would cost $1.35 if the tax is approved, Stein said. The city's tax on soft drinks -- 3 percent of a distributor's gross sales receipts, or 3 cents for a $1 bottle of soda pop -- is already factored into vending machine prices, Stein said. Supporters of the tax said it could push people away from bottled water and back to tap water, reducing the amount of resources used to package, ship and dispose of bottled water and its containers.

"I think [drinking bottled water] is a waste to the environment," said Kristina Paschall, 33, of Downers Grove, who compared the potential effects of the tax on bottled water to the effects of taxes on cigarettes.

At the same time that Daley announced his proposal, organizers of a national pledge drive were at the Jardine Water Purification Plant near Navy Pier, holding a news conference to urge Chicagoans to drink water from the tap. About 700 Chicago-area residents have pledged to drink tap water instead of bottled water, said Elizabeth Martin-Craig, a representative of Corporate Accountability International, which officially launched the local branch of the pledge drive against bottled water Wednesday. Organizers at the activist group hope to gather more than 2,000 signatures in the next few weeks, Martin-Craig said.

Still, the proposed tax has caught some environmentally conscious bottled-water drinkers in the middle. "As a bottled-water drinker, I'm not amazingly thrilled with it," said Jay Strother, 40, of Arlington Heights. "But as an environmentalist, I kind of like it."

rhaggerty@tribune.com

CTA, Pace forecasts bleak

'Devastating' cuts ahead without state action, officials say

By Jon Hilkevitch and Richard Wronski | Tribune staff reporters October 11, 2007

<img border="0" width="88" height="31" src="#DOCUME~1MARGOLOCALS~1Tempmsohtml1

Maranatha, my beloved!

There was a time when the athletes who made headlines, did it because they were winners in all ways. Now they are doing it because they are crying out. Do you hear them?? Or did we know they were not right all along and just were waiting for their confession?

Psalm 139:23-24

²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.

²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

I loved to watch Marion Jones. I liked that she, Gail Devers, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Flo-Jo, and others kept the American woman athlete viable on a world class stage. Not to mention the Williams sisters and our World Cup Soccer team. They really dazzled us with brilliance. Now we are being baffled by the naked truth that used to be our suspicion of Eastern bloc athletes.

· The BEARS won last night in an amazing comeback victory that proved you have to play 60 minutes of football in the NFL.

· The Cubs will not be discussed by their fans for at least another 6 months.

· The BULLS will have a great season.

Only the ladies, Da BEARS and Da BULLS count. I am biased in this blog, but it’s my blog. I loved the 85 Bears. They set the stage for Super Bowls for a long time coming. I was mesmerized with Flo-Jo. Venus Williams is making a comeback and the Bulls set a standard for sports dynasties.

What do they all have in common? They finished with style. Their opponents on many occasion, knew they were outmatched and just showed up so the game could be played. But you knew the outcome before the Star Spangled Banner. The Ladies Soocer team was just plain exciting, not to mention a new celebration with the tear-away jersey.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

¹⁹Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. ²⁰To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. ²¹To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. ²²To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. ²³I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

We are in a society where winning is everything. We start making our children into icons and what-not at 3, teaching them cross-over dribbles, berating poor performance in Little League, parents getting into fights at high school football games, 7^th graders being recruited and scouted by NBA teams because a kid is 6’10 and really has no interest in basketball. Not to mention other things to force a child to perform so that he can have quality of life, according to the world standard.

But what about their heart, morals and ethics; where do they fit in? If winning is everything, why are “winners” being found out? Why is murder and suicide becoming so prevalent in the sports world, world-wide? Check out the recent deaths section of Wikipedia and you will see what I mean. I noticed a large jump in athlete deaths since 2004.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

²⁴Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

²⁵Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. ²⁶Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. ²⁷No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

So why cheat? I can not imagine the disgrace Marion Jones and others who have admitted their guilt are feeling. She loved her sport. I would imagine a person who did not realize that blessings were from God must have the same impulses when they cheat on their finances, examinations and of course, their spouses.

Where are our morals and ethics? They are trapped in a depraved heart and mind that doesn’t know that it is depraved, that’s where. Otherwise, we would train harder, study to show ourselves approved unto God in all our ways, but mainly to nbe a watchman unashamed of rightly dividing the word of truth. But we don’t know the truth, so we can’t handle the truth.

Remember when Ali was training? We all knew he chopped down trees and ran and sparred; a true champion. I do not share the same faith, but he did train. He did win with skills. In that era, though, he wasn’t by himself and the heroes of that time were heroes to all, not role models for children. They stood for something that all ages could relate to.

It didn’t last though. It was all about the trophy, then. The eternal things, they left to those who were called and worshipped too. There was no problem identifying with God as your true champion as an athlete. But as you see, prayer and God being taken out of the schools, has dipped the moral standards and also the attitude towards true hard work to compete on scholastic levels on relevant subjects. WE even had penmanship classes, so that your writing was even a positive reflection of your character.

But the grip of Satan over many is taking its toll. But what saddens me is the righteousness of God, in Christ (believers) do not see this as an opportunity to reach out to these fallen heroes. Not bloggers, but all of these gospel singers and mega-church preachers who truly can reach these people with minimal effort. We are really cheating them more if in spite of all of this, they still have no testimony of eternal life.

Hebrews 12 God Disciplines His Sons

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

⁴In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, ⁶because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."

Medals and fame are fleeting. But the lord Jesus offers the free gift f eternal life. It molds, shapes and changes the heart into one for God. A heart that proclaims that with Christ, I can do all things and without faith it is impossible to please God. Sin is an inside job, just like the doping and cheating by players and coaches and others involved in sport.

We can not forsake the discipline of a generous and gracious Father. We can not avoid repentance and confession as our means to forgiveness. This change in the relationship with God will bring about the same change in our relationship with others which will increase our capacity to love with a pure heart. Then, everyone wins and the prize is eternal. Written with much love for sport and people who study and train to give their utmost for His highest.

BLESSINGS.

Jones returns five medals from 2000 Sydney Olympics

Associated Press

Updated: October 8, 2007, 7:03 PM ET

Marion Jones has given up the five medals she won at the Sydney Olympics, days after admitting she used performance-enhancing drugs.

It wasn't immediately clear where the medals are now. Jones' lawyer, Henry DePippo, said Monday that she had relinquished them, but declined to say who had possession of them. The normal protocol would be for Jones to give them to the U.S. Olympic Committee, which then would return them to the International Olympic Committee, spokeswoman Giselle Davies said.

"The IOC wants to move forward as quickly as possible in getting the facts and sorting out all the issues from the BALCO case," Davies said.

A call to the USOC was not immediately returned, but the group has scheduled a 7 p.m. ET news conference. No one answered the door at Jones' house in Austin , Texas .

She pleaded guilty Friday to lying to federal investigators about using steroids, saying she'd taken "the clear" from September 2000 to July 2001. "The clear" is the designer steroid that's been linked to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, the lab at the center of the steroids scandal in professional sports.

It wasn't immediately clear what will happen next. The IOC and other sports bodies can go back eight years to strip medals and nullify results. In Jones' case, that would include the 2000 Olympics, where she won gold in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 1,600 relay and bronze in the long jump and 400 relay.

The standings normally would be readjusted, with the second-place finisher moving up to gold, third to silver and fourth to bronze.

Pauline Davis-Thompson of the Bahamas was the silver medalist in the 200 meters, and Tatiana Kotova of Russia was fourth in the long jump. The silver medalist in the 100 meters in Sydney was Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou -- at the center of a major doping scandal at the Athens Olympics.

She and fellow Greek runner Kostas Kenteris failed to show up for drug tests on the eve of the games, claimed they were injured in a motorcycle accident and eventually pulled out. Both later were suspended for two years.

The relays could be a trickier issue, because there are more people involved. Jearl Miles-Clark, Monique Hennagan, Tasha Colander-Richardson and Andrea Anderson all won golds as part of the 1,600-meter relay. Jamaica finished second.

Chryste Gaines, Torri Edwards, Nanceen Perry and Passion Richardson were on the 400-meter relay, which finished third ahead of France .

Jones stands to lose more than her Olympic medals, too. The International Association of Athletics Federations can strip athletes of results and medals after notification of a doping violation, and it said last week it was waiting to hear from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Jones won a gold (100 meters) and bronze (long jump) at the 1999 worlds in Seville , Spain , and two gold (200 and 400 relay) and a silver (100) at the 2001 championships in Edmonton .

IAAF rules also allow for athletes busted for doping to be asked to pay back prize money and appearance fees. British sprinter Dwain Chambers, who admitted using the clear, had to pay back a reported $230,615 before he was allowed to return to competition after a two-year ban.

It's unclear whether this would be applied to Jones, who would have earned millions in prizes, bonuses and fees from meets all over the world, including a share of the $1 million Golden League jackpot in 2001 and 2002.

Jones had been dogged by suspicions and doping allegations for years, angrily denying all of them. On Friday, though, she told a federal judge that then-coach Trevor Graham gave her a substance that he said was flaxseed oil but was actually "the clear."

"By November 2003, I realized he was giving me performance-enhancing drugs," Jones said Friday.

I love you Lord

I love you Lord and I lift my voice

To worship You O my soul rejoice

Take joy my King in what you hear

Let me be a sweet, sweet sound In your ear

I love you Lord and I give my life

To worship You under pain and strife

Take joy my King in what you see

May I be a sweet sacrifice Unto Thee

Leviticus 19:31-34: 'Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God. ³² 'You shall rise up before the grayheaded and honor the aged, and you shall revere your God; I am the LORD.

³³ 'When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. ³⁴ 'The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God. (NASB)
Leviticus 19:31-34: Turn not to those [mediums] who have familiar spirits or to wizards; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God. ³² You shall rise up before the hoary head and honor the face of the old man and [reverently] fear your God. I am the Lord. ³³ And if a stranger dwells temporarily with you in your land, you shall not suppress and mistreat him.

³⁴ But the stranger who dwells with you shall be to you as one born among you; and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. (AMP)

I find this passage prophetic., especially when you look at the word mediums. In another sense the plural for mediums, of course, would be media. Read it now to say “Turn not to those media or who have familiar spirits or wizards, do not seek them out to be defiled by them.” This of course would be a major blow to television, radio, newspapers, magazines and the like. And the first thing we would respond with is “How will I be informed, then?” Are you truly informed now, honestly?

I read many pages on 360 and there seems to be a lot of questions that are ever unanswered, mostly because my brothers and sisters feel a sense of being lost and really do not want to let their pride go and admit it.

Two men were traveling on mountainous terrain. One exclaimed he knew of a shortcut. As they travailed, they came across a fork in the road and a sign which read : “Do not go beyond this point!”

The one man convinced the other that the sign was not true and they traveled onward, only to get to a bridge in ruins about 8 miles down the road with no other path but the one they had taken. So, they traveled back.

When they arrived at their original point, there was a sign on the back of their original sign which read “WELCOME BACK STUPID!”

We travel and travail and tarry much in this life. We ignore many signs and do not heed many warnings; only to wind up back at square one. Jesus Himself gave us a map when He said “I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes unto the Father, but by Me.” Still many wish to find their own way to God and forget the road they’re traveling on just to get to a sign, He built. He built this road to lead to Himand to Him alone, just so we don’t get it twisted and think we are on a journey seeking God and not that we are being called back to Him and the only way there is to hear His call.

Mark 3:31-35: Then His mother and His brothers arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called Him. ³²A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, "Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You."

³³ Answering them, He said, "Who are My mother and My brothers?"

³⁴ Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He said, "Behold My mother and My brothers!

³⁵ "For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother."

I read a lot of racial commentary and gender biased remarks a lot. Some are reasonable and most are not. A man is not explained by a woman, but complimented by her. He is not on this earth, nor is she to realize any form or sort of superiority as heirs. But God has made His men head of woman and family, regardless if she was taken out of side or not.

What we do consider is the original translation of “rib”. According to some scholars it means core or heart. Perhaps man had 2 hearts and is in a desperate search for the woman who has his heart. Makes sense to me. Bt without God, you have no clue. As far as head, the visions are to the young men and the dreams are to the old men. But the prophesying is to all sons and daughters and servants and handmaidens.

Malachi 4:4-6: 4 Earnestly] remember the law of Moses, My servant, the statutes and the ordinances which I commanded him on [Mount] Horeb [to give] to all Israel. ⁵ Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.

⁶ And he shall turn and reconcile the hearts of the [estranged] fathers to the [ungodly] children, and the hearts of the [rebellious] children to [the piety of] their fathers [a reconciliation produced by repentance of the ungodly], lest I come and smite the land with a curse and a ban of utter destruction. (AMP)

Therefore, even in the season of the Church, the help-meet is clearly God’s plan for family. But her access is not like that of Eve’s, but direct, in the name of Jesus. So grant her the understanding that is commanded and our prayers will not be hindered.

Governments make people second-class citizens and treat then with disrespect for their being and inheritance. Compare the daughters of Job (Job 42:13-15) with the daughters of Zelophehad (Num 27:1-11) with the daughters of today.

1 Timothy 5:1-5: Honor Widows: Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to the younger men as brothers, ² the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, in all purity.

³ Honor widows who are widows indeed; ⁴ but if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to practice piety in regard to their own family and to make some return to their parents; for this is acceptable in the sight of God. ⁵Now she who is a widow indeed and who has been left alone, has fixed her hope on God and continues in entreaties and prayers night and day.

Where things fell apart in our current world society is stated in the preceding verses. Recently, I referred to as “Sir”, by several young people in a period of time. It almost floored me, but I was cool. I never lost touch with the fact that they are our children. Nevertheless, I also will not lose fact that so was I. While it takes a village to raise a child, we have to remember that the “idiot” was shaped and molded there also. Yet no one loved them.

We are responsible for the next generation and should stop wondering what is wrong with them. We are what is wrong with them. We looked up to our elders because they acted in such a manner. We allow the foolishness of the media into our homes. We back-bite our friends in our children’s presence. We do not love God in their presence. We fornicate in front of them and use whatever language and drug we are dependent on and discredit others for not being role models. We curse our parents, we drive negligently and we are not courteous customers, demanding customer service. We make choices because of race, creed and color (now I’m talking white for sure), but feel discriminated against. If the pot could call the kettle at all nowadays, it would get voice mail; and the call would probably not be returned. (caller ID).

We have an election coming up in 2008. I am happy that everyone loves my Senator from Illinois. I just wish he would do his job here before bucking for a promotion. We love politicians and not public servants. We love electrifying servants and not convicting Gospel based exhortations and biblical teaching. We love being pleased sexually but eschew intimacy as a foundation and not a result or bi-product.

This is all because the Father is absent from the home. Not just a man, this time. But the Father, God.

There is little need for many things if believers would assemble regularly about the things that promote the kingdom. If church was not a systematized function as opposed to a meeting place to get God’s will done. Traditions are fine and deserve their proper respect, but the traditions doomed the Pharisees. Moreover, I am sorry brothers and sisters, read Genesis 10-11. Traditions began along time ago and all races have taken turns screwing this world up. God is in control and we need to rally behind Him.

Lest we all in frustration and or judgment, return to read the back of the same sign: “Do not go beyond this point” over and over and over again.

Blessings

"The Tell-Tale Heart" is a first-person narrative of a genderless narrator who is taking care of an old man with a clouded, vulture-like eye. The narrator's paranoid symptoms lead to an irrational fear of the weird clouded eye. The narrator becomes so distressed by the eye, he plots to murder the old man. For eight nights, the narrator opens the door of the old man's room, a process which takes him a full hour, watching and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. However, the old man's eyes are shut, hiding the clouded eye, and the narrator loses the urge to kill.

One night, though, the old man awakens as the narrator watches, revealing the eye. The narrator strikes, smothering the old man with his own mattress. The narrator proceeds to chop the body up, and hide the pieces under the floorboards. The narrator then cleans the place up to hide all signs of the crime. When the narrator reports that the police (whether a delusion or real is unclear) respond to a call placed by a neighbor who heard a distressful scream, the narrator invites them to look around, confident that they will not find any evidence of the murder. They sit around the old man's room, right on top of the very hiding place of the dead body, yet suspect nothing.

The narrator, however, begins to hear a faint noise. As the noise grows louder, the narrator hallucinates that it is the heartbeat of the old man coming from under the floorboards. This paranoia increases as the officers seem to pay no attention to the sound, which is loud enough for the narrator to admit to having heard. Shocked by the constant beating of the heart and a feeling that the officers must be aware of the heartbeats, the narrator loses control and confesses to killing the old man and tells them to tear up the floorboards to reveal the body.

Throughout the story the narrator insists on being sane, yet at the same time, giving the impression of serious hallucinations or paranoia, possibly caused by guilt from having murdered an elderly man. taken from Wikipedia.

Jeremiah 17:9-10

9. "The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?

10. "I the Lord, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give to each man according to his ways,
According to the results of his deeds.

There seems, in the last few days a pattern developing. A pattern of heartache and heartbreak is surfacing all over the place. I suppose the summer is over and ‘tis the season, but I find that not rational, in that we’re pretty darn grown around here.

However, when I see pages, poems, rants, and such, I get a little saddened, because most of this should never be. I go to church services, lead men’s ministry and bible studies; preach and teach, exhort and evangelize, counsel and prophesy until my body and soul get weary; in the work but not of it.

I watch the conditions of the heart beyond the junk in the news. As stated, I have 278+ people I am trying to get to know, in some way and also trying to get you to know me as well. But romance is a beast all to itself.

John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

John 3:8 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.

I believe we are now at a point of warfare that is at a dangerous proportion. We are not truly seeking to know the Lord, but to create a god and follow false doctrine and call it worship. Well, the devil is a liar. I am assured of that eternal fact every time I see a woman with no wedding ring hauling kids back and forth. This is becoming so acceptable it is shameful

John 13:14 If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.

Marriage is not for everyone and neither are relationships. It would be nice to be married right now, but not at the cost of experimenting with souls and hearts. I had to correct my behavior to understand my calling, so yes my feet needed washing as well. This has bright me to a level of understanding that gives sound judgment in regards to relationships, in total.

1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

Having learned and returned (repented), I can speak as a chastened son and not a self-righteous zealot. So when I read the blogs and visit the blasts, I am reading with a degree of compassion founded in love and truth. So every hug I give is from a pure heart. I hug my brothers and my sisters. There is pain amongst many.

1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Getting to know anyone is a pleasure for me. I either have the pleasure of knowing you and your relationship with the Lord, which we can share for a lifetime. I can also know that perhaps you don’t have one and that won’t change my love. BUT, if you claim to know Him and clearly do not, or lie about Him, or have spurious deceitful doctrine or reject Him unrepentantly, I believe our business is finished.

2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind

1 Corinthians 10:23 (AMP) All things are legitimate [permissible--and we are free to do anything we please], but not all things are helpful (expedient, profitable, and wholesome). All things are legitimate, but not all things are constructive [to character] and edifying [to spiritual life].

Be careful what you do. Be mindful of who you are with. Be worshipful of Whose you are.

BLESSINGS

Deut 23

⁷ Do not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not abhor an Egyptian, because you lived as an alien in his country. ⁸ The third generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD.

¹⁷ No Israelite man or woman is to become a shrine prostitute. ¹⁸ You must not bring the earnings of a female prostitute or of a male prostitute into the house of the LORD your God to pay any vow, because the LORD your God detests them both.

²⁴ If you enter your neighbor's vineyard, you may eat all the grapes you want, but do not put any in your basket. ²⁵ If you enter your neighbor's grainfield, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to his standing grain.

From time to time, I see that my friends and others make an announcement about having to “cleanse” their friends list. I have done it, but never with pomp and circumstance. This is, though a matter of preference. I see my list has 279 names, including people who are now YaGhosts, because we see each other but are not officially on one another’s lists.

So then, I look at the 279 or so faces, and I always wonder have I reached out to everyone on the list, regardless of whether I ever hear from them. What I see sometimes are the faces of some who visit the page, but do not leave a message. I see it as just how they are; the behind the seams persons, at least with me.

I do not have much of a prejudice with whom I accept, so much as in how or why. I did an audit yesterday and honestly, some I am not acquainted with (8), nor do I know when they even got on the list. However, it’s cool. No love wasted.

John 15

⁹"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰If you obey my commands; you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. ¹¹I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹²My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. ¹⁷This is my command: Love each other.

The Lord Jesus in this chapter is speaking hid farewell address to His remaining disciples. There is sorrow because He is leaving and there is joy because He is promising the Spirit in this address to them. However, the matter of it all is this address is to us as well. As we have died to sin, we have the same promise of the Spirit who will guide us into all the truth.

My friends list is a prayer list. I may not read your blog and I certainly can never appreciate the informal blast mail sent out nor things on a page I do not find glorifying to God, but we all will meet Jesus, eventually. The point is, to spread the Gospel and the love of Christ with all I meet. They can accept it or reject it, the increase and the draw is never mine, always the Lord’s.

Nevertheless, one thing I know for sure: everyone on here has feelings that they express that I believe they may not necessarily express to people they are around everyday. So I feel privileged that I am invited into their world on this level of privacy and intimacy. I cannot fire anyone, divorce anyone, or cause any real harm. However, I can listen, observe, and give a word from time to time. That is cool with me.

James 5 Exhortation

¹³Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.

¹⁴Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;

¹⁵and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.

¹⁶Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

¹⁹My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back,

²⁰let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

The one thing that I have noticed an increase on is the need for prayer. Many of us have experienced sickness, death, job-loss, among many other afflictions. These things expressed with much humility and the pain is more than obvious. Others have displayed a sense of humor, talents in the arts of poetry and prose, and marketing skills. Still others are just plain lewd and distasteful or profane and angry.

It is an interesting world 360 is and now there is a new spin-off, which I am not sure I even want to investigate. All the same, I am thankful that I can at least say hello to most if not all of you on a regular basis and I especially appreciate those of you who holla back. I find it especially refreshing to see prayers from many come to the aid of those in need of it or requesting it for themselves or another person. There is even the Jena 6 movement on so many pages and the outward expression of support and angst against a system that shows no love for a large segment of its base.

360 has allowed me to make friends with people on every continent but Antarctica. Moreover, I would imagine if someone there had a PC, they might even send a shout out to a brother. There cannot be too much to do there, anyway.

I thank all of you whom I have been able to share life with on the message side of things. It truly is a pleasure to share friendship and brotherhood with you. I also can appreciate the greeting cards and such that come through. The chain letter asking me to forward this and that and the folks who hit reply all I cannot say I have much appreciation for, not in the least.

I suppose there has to be pits in every bowl of cherries. Heck you get a bout of attitude from folks on here too, for whatever reason. They stop coming to your page cuz this chick or that chick said this or that. Or the how did my friend wind up on your page psycho-hostility. Or deeper still, the “you don’t read my blogs, so I ain’t studdin’ you” foolery.

Look in the window. Many never type a word, but just may come by for a word. I can do that and always will. It is a community, in which we all choose to have an address. You can always stop by. If I have not shown you any love lately, you just send me a note and I will certainly respond appropriately. Never too much of that in the world, don’t you know?

1John God's Love and Ours

⁷Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.

Blessings.

FREE the GENE-SIS!

There has been much said and done this week. The situation in Jena; the O.J.thing; Jesse Jackson's dance around what he still has not denied; the lawsuit against God; the missing woman in Chicago and of course the war in Iraq.

Much also went on that no one blogged on or conversed on, but it still happened. These all are important stories and I respect the attention that they're getting, to a degree. But I blogged about O.J. already, nuff said. Many went to Jena, but really are needed to help rebuild some houses in Louisiana. The presence of that kind of effort would have probably made anyone think twice of hanging anything on a tree. Jesse said it; he sure did. And it's another one of those dumb things we just can't get out of our "backroom culture", which intradiscriminate. The lawsuit is another person with too much time on their hands and I am sure he will get re-elected. The missing woman, although is a sad story, should be one of the thousands of faces that need to replace the copy wasted on OJ and others, so that we realize many disappear DAILY. No way any man should feel comfortable abducting this woman or causing any harm or distress without knowing the price for this would be severe. And finally, are we not listening to the rumbling of another war building against Iran.

I have posted quite a bit of Scripture chapters below, but I suggest reading only one of them, perhaps, just to let God talk to you as to what He really wants you to think on. It will not diminish the importance of any of this. But it will remind you that, like it or not, God is still in control. And, no matter what is going on, still be on your guard for His return.

Assembling together for a just cause is very noble. But prayer changes things; and it is the effectual prayer of the RIGHTEOUS man, that availeth much.

It was good to see the ribbons. But let us not forget, there will be no 'hood in heaven. So all mega-churches may want to consider the fact that now is the time to take it to the street, so that our presence will make it less convenient for all crime against a people to exist so cavalierly. Then we will show the power of God and make disciples of ALL nations.

Assemble under God and the causes will follow; not the other way around.

Genesis 6 The Corruption of Mankind

¹Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, ²that the sons of God* saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.

³Then the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years."

⁴The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God* came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. (*http://www.apostolic.net/biblicalstudies/genesis6.htm )

⁵Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

⁶The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.

⁷The LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them."

⁸But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

⁹These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.

¹⁰Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

¹¹Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence.

¹²God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.

¹³Then God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.

¹⁴"Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch.

¹⁵"This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. ¹⁶"You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.

¹⁷"Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish.

¹⁸"But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark--you and your sons and your wife, and your sons' wives with you. ¹⁹"And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.

²⁰"Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive.

²¹"As for you, take for yourself some of all food which is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be for food for you and for them."

²²Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.

Luke 3

⁹"Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

³⁶the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, ³⁷the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, ³⁸the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.*

Luke 17 Second Coming Foretold

²²And He said to the disciples, "The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.

²³"They will say to you, 'Look there! Look here!' Do not go away, and do not run after them.

²⁴"For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day.

²⁵"But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.